Exciting opening scene: William Bendix bursts into Robert Mitchum's ship cabin. He demands something, Mitchum says he hasn't got it, they fight. Mitchum knocks out Bendix, takes his wallet and runs out. The events that led up to this bout are gradually revealed as the story moves forward, and things aren't always what they seem. What does become apparent fairly soon is that 1)Mitchum is chasing Patric Knowles, 2)Jane Greer is also chasing after Knowles for a different reason, 3)Mitchum and Greer are going to join forces, and 4)Bendix is coming along furiously bringing up the rear.It's a neatly-contrived plot, with performances that are just dandy from these four stars. Ramon Navarro is delightful in a supporting role as a Mexican inspector general who enjoys his encounters with these volatile Americans as they give him excellent opportunities to practice his English.Mitchum and Greer look good together as they go through the usual process of getting in each other's way before realizing they can do better together. "Are you always so chivalrous to strange women?" she asks him at one point. He replies, "We'll kick that around some other time." --Sure, it's dialog that's fairly standard but it sounds great when delivered just right. Fast-paced and suspenseful, with an especially great downhill chase sequence on a curvy mountain road.

In case you were not paying attention, it is necessary to get one major point out of the way, for starters. Although it is included in a box set, titled Film Noir Collection, this is not a Film Noir. Not everybody knows that, although you might be forgiven for thinking that everybody does know it. There are no shadows in this film. It all takes place in the brightest sunshine. There are no dark scenes, or dimly lit rooms. In fact, the version I saw was colourized. There is also no femme fatale, even though she is played by Jane Greer.Oddly, the blurb on the box set I own notes that Robert Mitchum is here re-united with Jane Greer, after Out of the Past. It then dates this film to 1944, whereas Out of the Past is dated 1947. Must be unusual to have stars re-unite before they've been united, but anything is possible in a film noir, especially if it isn't noir. This must be a bad mistake, as the film was actually made in 1949. It's really a jolly road caper, and a heist, also according to the blurb. The main baddie gets killed without too much trouble --- no tears are shed, but the stars survive, and it's all very entertaining. Worth a watch of an evening. A colourful comedy.

Given the two leads, support, and director this, certainly viewed so long after the initial release, is disappointing. Mitchum and Greer have no problem working together and generating chemistry but that to one side this is a pale comparison with Build My Gallows High. On a superficial level it's merely a pursuit race south of the border with Mitchum and Greer chasing Patrick Knowles, Bendix chasing all three and silent star Ramon Navarro watching from the sidelines. As noted Mitchum and Greer are good value but Bogie, Tracy, Cagney and Robinson would be hard put to get this to fly. If anything it's a reminder of how Greer, like Marie Windsor, cornered the market in femmes fatale and how sorely missed both are.

The Big Steal (1949)You can't go totally wrong with Robet Mitchum, and he is with Jane Greer, who was his sometimes girlfriend in Jacques Tourneur's fabulous Out of the Past (1947). This fast, chase chase chase movie is a lot of fun, and it careens through Mexico in a slightly insensitive but slightly exotic way. Slightly. It sometimes seems like a quickie movie, for sure, but hey, this is about a love affair trying to bud amidst the chaos of crime, and there's nothing wrong with that. And one very nice thing is the Spanish is clean and honest. Even Greer's Spanish is very good, and there is no pandering to the audience too much (no subtitles, and when it switches to English it's natural).Director Don Siegel has two legendary movies to his name, which is more than many greater directors can say: Dirty Harry (1971) and Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956), as well as the highly regarded The Shootist (1976). I say all this partly to show he's got something special happening, and even a flawed effort like The Big Steal is going to have things to love, and to watch for.So what to watch for? For one, even more that Mitchum who is always likable and convincing, is Greer. She brings a confident, brave, not quite hardened edge to her character and it's bracing. She never coys it up, never becomes the femme fatale of more stereotypical films. Mithcum is a good match for her, and as the race through the landscape, we get a continuation of the chemistry they started in Tourneur's film (which was set in California). William Bendix is always a treat, even if a little bit easy to caricature, and he is cardboard here, for sure. But what the heck, he's just the one chasing, and if he become too interesting the film would start to look like fine art, which it isn't. In fact, if there is one thing that Siegel avoids it's high minded goals. He has something more pithy and immediate in mind, and gets it, and gets you, in the gut, and with an exhilaration that's really fine, really well done, not a cheap thrill at all.